John Byrd works with taxidermy, hand-built ceramics, cast plastic, and other substances to create works that remember cosmetic souvenirs and knick-knacks. The artist claims that”within a national space, I’m fascinated by the capacity of an encapsulated aesthetic to launch, withstand, and challenge characteristics of culture and class.”

“While often an official choice as far as a cultural reference, it will force me to admit my conflicted consumptive function,” the artist states. “To some extent, I am considering the ego attached to this process and sometimes find myself creating the ceramic“settings” in an effort to warrant the departure or at least return a degree of honor lost in the animal‘s passing. I do not attempt to become a moral compass on this particular topic. My work is merely a private study of my own hypocrisy for a participant in the notion of both honor and consumption.”